A Deputy U.S. Marshal has been arrested in south Texas on charges of obstruction and being an accessory after the fact, and faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted, according to the Christian Post. The Deputy, U.S. Marshal Lucio Osbaldo Moya, is alleged to have revealed the identity of an undercover agent.
Moya reportedly revealed the identity of an undercover agent to his father, Juan Norberto Moya, who, at the time, was suspected of being involved in a drug trafficking organization, said federal prosecutors. The intelligence leak put the undercover agent's life in danger and forced the Department of Homeland Security's Office to contact Moya's supervisor and issue a warning.
It is not known at this time whether the agent was then pulled from his assignment or remains in the field, reported the Post. Moya's bond is currently set at $75,000 and he has had to surrender his passport. As part of the agreement, he also has to wear an electric monitor and remain under home detention. The 29-year-old Deputy Marshal from Rio Grande City, Texas could receive up to 20 years if convicted of the accessory charge.
The charges stem from an incident last year when the undercover Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent reportedly gave Moya's father a photographed copy of a driver's license. The man wasn't aware the copy of the license was just a small part of a larger assignment to bring down the drug smuggling operation, so he gave it to his son, Moya.
At that point, Moya conducted his own research, inquiring at work as to who the man was and found that the man who had given his father the photograph was an undercover ICE agent and told his father, "thereby putting him in grave danger," said the Post.
Moya later told investigators he was hoping his father could become a paid confidential informant.
"[Moya] told authorities different stories as to how he came into possession of the copy, only discrediting himself even more," wrote the paper.
"ICE agents, along with the Drug Enforcement Administration arrested several of their targets in the drug smuggling ring, which included Moya's father. The disclosure of the agent's identity seemingly forced the administration's hand and caused them to move in as a matter of safety," the Post added.
Juan Moya received a 10-year prison sentence for his involvement in the marijuana smuggling ring and was tried separately from his son. At this time, Lucio Moya has not been charged with drug smuggling.
Moya became a deputy marshal in 2009, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.
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